Predictors of parental sense of competence for the couple during the transition to parenthood.

The purpose of this longitudinal panel study was to determine whether changes occur in parents' satisfaction with family functioning and in the importance they attribute to family relationships during the transition to parenthood, and whether these variables Predict parental sense of competence in 114 couples. Repeated measures ANOVA and paired t-test analyses supported a significant decline in satisfaction with family functioning for mothers and fathers. Prenatal conditions contributed to variations in parents' satisfaction with family functioning. Importance of family relationships did not change across time for mothers and remained significantly (p<.05) greater at each test period than for fathers. Multiple regression analyses showed that satisfaction with family functioning was significantly (p<.05) more important for mothers' parental sense of competence than it was for fathers'. This knowledge can contribute to strategies for identifying problems that can be addressed through family-based interventions.